Chapter XLVII: Section II: Painting

Such fragments of art as have been preserved from early times onward were noticed in preceding volumes, and it was observed that Jamesone was the first Scottish painter who attained a reputation. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, however, the conditions favourable to the culture of art had arisen, mental philosophy was ably taught, a taste for literature diffused, science advanced, manufactures and commerce rapidly developed, and the wealth of the nation immensely increased. This march forward was followed by art at some distance in the rearward. I shall, therefore, present a brief account of the progress of painting and the diffusion of taste in Scotland.

William Aikman was born in 1682, near Arbroath. He studied law for some time, but his bent for painting led him to change his aim. He went to Italy, where he studied three years. When he returned to Scotland he painted portraits, in which he excelled, and also tried his hand in historic painting. He died in 1731 in London.

Allan Ramsay, the painter, was a son of the distinguished Allan Ramsay, the poet, and was born in Edinburgh in 1713. It is said that he began to sketch at the age of twelve, and when in his twenty-third year he went to Rome, where he studied for three years. On returning home he painted the portrait of his father, and those of President Forbes and Archibald Campbell, Duke of Argyll.

Afterwards he removed to London, and soon found friends and patrons. The Earl of Bridgewater patronised him, and Lord Bute introduced him to the Prince of Wales, whose portrait he painted in full length. But the portrait which brought Ramsay almost immediately into notice was a whole-length one of Bute himself. It was a well-executed work. His admiration of the style of the great Italian masters brought down upon him the wrath of Hogarth and the satire of ♦Churchill; the former attempted to pun him under the name of “Ram’s-eye,” and also satirised him in “The Battle of the Pictures,” impressed with the image and cross of St. Andrew, while the latter coupled him and his father in these disparaging lines:――

“Thence came the Ramsays, men of worthy note,
Of whom one paints as well’s the other wrote!”¹

Ramsay cared little for the satire of either the painter or the poet, and his father’s fame could well take care of itself.

♦ “Churchhill” replaced with “Churchill”

¹ “The feuds which in those days distracted the united
commonwealth of letters and art may be traced in many a
bitter verse, satiric print, and sarcastic memorandum.”
――Cunningham’s _Lives of British Painters_, Volume V.,
page 37.

In spite of opposition, Ramsay prospered exceedingly in his profession. His skill in art, learning, and good sense, obtained for him ample employment. His pencil was called into requisition for ceilings and walls, as well as portraits; and he employed several workmen, who furnished bodies while he painted the heads. He passed a second time to Rome and stayed several months, and also visited Edinburgh. When his father died, in 1757, he settled a pension on his unmarried sister, Janet Ramsay, who lived till 1804. In short, before Ramsay became a favourite with the King, he had accumulated an independent fortune amounting to about £40,000.

After George III. ascended the throne, court favour smiled freely upon Ramsay. In 1767 he was appointed portrait-painter to the court, which brought him a great increase of work, and he had to engage five assistants. There was such a strong desire to have portraits by him, that he was glad to employ any one to aid in advancing his pictures; but he always painted the head with his own hands. As the king often presented portraits of himself and the queen to his ambassadors and governors of colonies, Ramsay had a busy time manufacturing these royal effigies.¹

¹ “It often happened that the king desired the painter to
convey his easel and canvas to the royal dining-room, that
he might observe his progress and have the pleasure of his
conversation. The painter, a bold, spirited, well-informed
man, perfectly conversant with the state of the various
kingdoms of Europe, spoke freely, and without disguise; and
he was the only person about the court, save the domestics,
who could speak German; the queen, more especially, found it
an agreeable variety to chat with him in her native language.
Ramsay, in short, was a great favourite. When the king had
finished his usual allowance of boiled mutton and turnips,
he would rise and say, ‘Now, Ramsay, sit down in my place
and take your dinner.’ This partiality produced, of course,
abundance of enemies; but they could do him no harm――for
he was not dependent upon royal favour; and the extent of
his fortune was, at least, as well known, and as sincerely
envied, as either his accomplishments or his courtly success.
He had many high friends: Lord Bute, the Duke of Newcastle,
Lord Bath, Lord Chesterfield, and the Duke of Richmond, in
particular, were frequently at his house, and that more, it
was said, on matters connected with politics than painting.
Ramsay loved and enjoyed this, for politics were his delight;
he wrote with great vigour and facility, and dipped his
pen freely in the public controversies of those times.
He was known to be the author of many ingenious pieces on
history, politics, and criticism, signed ‘Investigator,’
and since collected in a volume.... He corresponded, too,
with Voltaire and Rousseau; both of whom he had visited
when abroad; and his letters are said to have been elegant
and witty. Ramsay, in short, led the life of an elegant,
accomplished man of the world, and public favourite; the
companion of the first of his day, and the admitted ornament
of the highest societies.”――Cunningham’s _Lives of British
Painters_, Volume V., pages 39‒40.

When he was intently engaged on the first portrait of Queen Charlotte, all the crown jewels and regalia were sent to him; and he said that such a mass of jewels and gold deserved a guard, and accordingly sentinels were posted, day and night, around his house. He resided on the west side of Harley Street, and his studio consisted of a set of coachmen’s rooms and haylofts gutted, and formed into one long gallery.

Unfortunately, he sustained a serious accident, which dislocated his right arm in so severe a way that he never fully recovered from its effects. Feeling his constitution shaken, and finding himself disabled, he left his work in Reniagle’s hands――one of his own pupils, and went to Italy, where he resided for several years. But he never regained his strength, and died in August, 1784.

In his own art, “his execution was neat, careful, and finished; but the freedom of his pencilling never reached the character of boldness: the placid and the contemplative were his element, energy he never even attempted; and his colouring seldom deserted the regions of the pale and the grey.”¹

¹ _Lives of British Painters_, by Cunningham, Volume V.,
pages 44.

Alexander Runciman was born in Edinburgh in 1736, a son of an architect; and it was reported that he began to make drawings at an early age. When fourteen years of age, he was placed in the studio of John and Robert Norris, the former of whom was a landscape painter of some note in his time. He applied himself earnestly to the art, and in 1755 he commenced on his own account as a landscape painter. He did not succeed, however, in this branch; although many praised his paintings and sketches, yet few purchased any of them; nevertheless, he worked hard, and hoped that his hour of fame would come. In 1766, he went to Rome with the object of improving his powers by a study of the great works in the ancient city. He remained in Rome for five years, and practised his hand and eye in drawing from the antique, copying the works of the great masters, and studying the historic paintings in the Italian galleries.

At this time, as indicated in preceding chapters, the national spirit was rapidly recovering from the effects of the Rising of 1746, and resuming its energy in every direction; thus associations for the promotion of the fine arts began to be formed, and, in 1760, an academy was established in Edinburgh. While in 1753 Robert and Andrew Foulis, of Glasgow, had established in that city an academy of fine arts, in which engraving, modelling, and drawing were taught; and in which specimens of antique art were collected, and aspiring youths invited to come there and study free of all expense. Of course, an institution of this kind could hardly continue long; but for a time its influence was attractive and exceedingly beneficial.

When Runciman returned from Rome in 1771, he was solicited to become the head of the new academy in Edinburgh, at a salary of £120 per annum. He accepted the post, and commenced his task as a teacher.

He was very fond of historic painting, and submitted the design of a grand national work to Sir John Clerk, namely, to embellish the hall at Penicuik with a series of paintings from Ossian. Sir John at once agreed to this. But, when it became publicly known that Penicuik was to be adorned with a series of paintings from Ossian’s poems, and that the hall was to be called Ossian’s hall, the mirth and scorn of those who disbelieved in the authenticity of the poems was loud and unbounded. But the artist worked on, although it involved much bodily pain, as he had to lie upon his back while engaged on the ceiling of the hall, and his health began to fail; yet, he bravely pushed on and finished this great and romantic undertaking.

The work consists of twelve principal paintings, representing some of the finest passages in the poems; and at the time of its execution it was hailed as an original and national work. Although it was defective in several essential points, still it was entitled to be ranked with compositions of the epic order. He produced various other paintings, but the above was his greatest effort. For years his health had been failing; and on the 21st of October, 1785, he dropped down at the door of his lodgings, and expired, in the forty-ninth year of his age.

Touching his merits as an artist, there are different opinions. He sometimes violated the recognised rules of art in drawing and in other particulars; nevertheless, most of his efforts bear traces of real artistic genius. Brown, his pupil and friend, an able artist himself, says:――“His fancy was fertile; his discernment of character keen; his taste truly elegant; and his conceptions always great. Though his genius seems to be best suited to the grand and serious, yet many of his works amply prove that he could move with equal success in the less elevated line of the gay and the pleasing. His chief excellence was in composition, the noblest part of the art, in which it is doubtful whether he had any living superior. With regard to the truth, the harmony, the richness, and the gravity of colouring――that style, in short, which is the peculiar characteristic of the ancient Venetian, and the direct contrast of the modern English school, he was unrivalled. His works, it must be granted, like all those of the present time, were far from being perfect.”

David Allan was born in Alloa, on 13th of February, 1744. He received the rudiments of education in the parish school, and early manifested a bent for drawing; so it was resolved to send him to the new academy of Glasgow, and in February, 1755, he was apprenticed to Robert Foulis, to learn the art of drawing, painting, and engraving. He applied himself diligently to his work, and made good progress. He always spoke gratefully of the kindness of Robert and Andrew Foulis; and after his own reputation had risen, and their fortunes from speculation in art had sunk, he did all that he could to assist them.

In 1764, he left the academy of Glasgow and returned to his father’s house. It was then agreed among his friends that he should be sent to Rome to prosecute the study of art; accordingly, in the summer of 1764, he started, with hope glowing in his breast, and various letters of credit and introduction. He resided in Rome eleven years. When receiving instruction, he first gained a silver medal for skill in drawing; and next the gold medal of the academy of St. Luke, for the best historic composition; he was the second Scotsman found worthy of such an honour, Gavin Hamilton being the first.

The picture which gained him this prize is one of much merit, and excels everything else in the same style which Allan ever produced. The subject of the picture is the old dream of the “Origin of painting, or the Corinthian maid drawing the shadow of her lover.” Of this small picture it has been said: “There is a happy elegance and serene grace about the group which have seldom been surpassed, and I have heard Wilkie praise it as one of the best told stories that colour and canvas ever united to relate.”¹ While in Rome he produced several other pictures, and made four humourous sketches of Rome during the Saturnalia of the Carnival. But the paintings of the rustic manners of his own native land are the best of his many efforts.

¹ _Lives of British Painters_, by Cunningham, Volume VI.,
page 27.

Having returned home, he settled in Edinburgh. In 1786 he was appointed to the mastership of the Academy in Edinburgh, in succession to Runciman. He held this position for ten years, and found leisure to plan and execute a work which he had contemplated in early life. This was an edition of Allan Ramsay’s _Gentle Shepherd_, illustrated with landscapes and groups of characters copied from the scenes where the drama was laid. With this object he visited the district and every hill, dale, stream, and cottage, which could be admitted into the landscape of the poem. He copied whatever appeared suitable, admitted freely the faces of the old men and women into his sketches, and used them afterwards in his finished drawings. His finished drawings numbered twelve, but they are of unequal merit. Those in which age is depicted have most merit. Although he was not in all his delineations quite successful in catching the scenes of the poem, yet in his cottage scenes he has seldom been surpassed.

Touching the designs, and the way in which the plates were prepared for the work, he says:――“I have engraved them in the manner called _ognatmenta_――a late invention which has been brought to great perfection by Mr. Paul Smedly. A painter finds his advantage in this method, in which the pencil may be associated with the graver. It will be easily seen that I am not a master in the mechanical part of this art, but my chief intention was not to offer smooth and expensive engraving, but expressive characters and designs. How far I have succeeded it does not become me to say.” He was right; the engraving is rough, quite unlike the smooth work produced now, still it is full of nature, which compensates for many defects. The poem associated with its illustrations was beautifully printed, and appeared in 1788; it was one of the first works of the kind produced in Scotland, and it rendered Allan popular.

His mind teemed with varied subjects――historic and domestic――but his homely subjects are the most interesting. The more important of these were “The Highland Dance” and “The Scotch Wedding,” that is, the “Penny Wedding.” The wedding is full of joy, quiet humour, and boisterous glee; it was engraved and exhibited over Scotland, and few who saw it could resist laughter. Such subjects, in whatever form presented, were for long dear to the peasantry.

Burns had just commenced his career when Allan’s rustic pictures began to attract public attention, and the poet was amongst the first to perceive the characteristic merit of these pictures. When Burns was writing his fine lyrics, the idea occurred to Mr. Thomson, the proprietor of the work for which they were designed, that the hand of Allan might be employed to illustrate some of the best scenes in Scottish song. Accordingly, about twelve illustrative scenes were produced, some of which embodied the images, serious and comic, of Burns, and were exceedingly rich and expressive. Mr. Thomson says――“Allan has just sketched a charming design for ‘Maggie Lauder.’ She is dancing with such spirit as to electrify the piper, who seems to be almost dancing too, while he is playing with the most exquisite glee.” The sketch “John Anderson my Jo” is also very good. These and others of Allan’s designs were submitted to Burns. As the work of illustration proceeded, Burns found opportunities of commending the designs of the painter. He says in one of his letters――“‘Woo’d and married an’ a’’ is admirable; the grouping is beyond praise. The expression of the figures, conformable to the story of the ballad, is absolutely faultless perfection.”¹

¹ Cunningham says:――“Allan’s merits as a painter are of a
limited nature; he neither excelled in fine drawing nor in
harmonious colouring, and grace and grandeur were beyond his
reach. He painted portraits which were chiefly remarkable
for a strong homely resemblance; he painted landscapes, but
these wanted light and air; and he attempted the historical,
but save in one instance, ‘The Corinthian Maid,’ all
his efforts in that way were failures. His genius lay in
expression, especially in grave humour and open drollery....
He is among the painters what Allan Ramsay is among poets
――a fellow of infinite humour, and excelling in all manner
of rustic drollery, but deficient in fine sensibility of
conception, and little acquainted with lofty emotion or
high imagination.”――_Lives of British Painters_, Volume VI.,
page 48.

The reputation which Allan attained from these works soothed his declining years, for his physical strength was never great, and in his later years he was afflicted with dropsy and asthma, and he died in August, 1796, in the fifty-third year of his age.

A number of other painters of this period may be briefly mentioned. Gavin Hamilton was a native of Lanarkshire, and attained some distinction. He resided in Rome, and executed pictures which were exact and graceful, but rather cold; he died in 1797. John Donaldson was born in Edinburgh in 1737, and was a distinguished miniature portrait-painter. In 1765 and again in 1768 he gained the prizes given by the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, etc., for the best pictures in enamel. He painted a portrait of Hume, which greatly pleased the renowned philosopher, who said: “It is the best likeness that has been done for me.” Some of his etchings were also admired; he died in 1801. John Brown was born in Edinburgh in 1752. He was notable for pencil-drawings, and some of his small portraits were meritorious; he died in 1787. Archibald Skirving was a native of Haddington, and born in 1749. He studied for some time in Italy, and mainly devoted his attention to the study of portraits in crayon; he died in 1819. John Bogle was born in Glasgow. He excelled in painting miniature portraits, and loved to paint the heads of ladies, which he executed finely and gracefully; he died in 1804. Alexander Nasmyth was born in Edinburgh on the 9th of September, 1758. He was among the first Scotsmen who attracted some notice in landscape paintings. He studied two years in Italy, devoting his attention to the old masters, and practising landscape-sketching. On returning to Edinburgh he recommenced portrait-painting, in which he was very successful. He painted the well-known portrait of Burns, which has been often engraved. From 1793 he mainly directed his attention to landscape and scene-painting, in which he attained considerable success; he died in 1840. Personally he was highly esteemed by a wide circle of friends.

Sir Henry Raeburn was born on the 1st of March, 1756, at Stockbridge, Edinburgh, the son of a manufacturer, but he lost both his parents when only six years of age. He had the good fortune, however, to be placed in Heriot’s School, where he was well educated. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to a goldsmith in Edinburgh, and he soon began to draw caricatures of his companions in the shop. At length he tried his hand in painting miniature portraits. The goldsmith, his master, was a mild and considerate man, and he praised these youthful efforts, took him to see Martin’s pictures――an artist who produced portraits in St. James Square――which greatly encouraged Raeburn. Indeed, his master indulged him to the utmost limit, and the youth usually painted two portraits a week, which brought him a considerable sum of money. At last he made an arrangement with the goldsmith to have all his time to himself by paying a certain sum of money for the remainder of his apprenticeship.

His mind was developing, and he soon formed a higher conception of art, and aspired to produce more important works than miniature portraits. He erected a small studio, began to try his hand on oil-portraits, and succeeded better than he expected. His chief difficulties were the preparation of the colours, putting them on the palette, and applying them in accordance with the rules of art as taught in the academies. He had all this to find out himself, which doubtless contributed to the development of his peculiar genius.

He became known in Edinburgh, and commissions for his portraits increased. In his twenty-second year he married a lady who brought him a considerable fortune, and it was recorded that his profession was yielding him an income more than equal to his wants; thus he was regarded as a man whom genius and fortune had united to raise.

But he was well aware that he had still much to learn in his art, and resolved to improve himself by a study of the best models. Accordingly, accompanied by his wife, he proceeded to Rome, where he studied and worked for two years. He returned to Scotland in 1787, and soon had his hands full of work. He was then in his thirty-first year, in good health and high spirits, with a gallery worthy of being seen by people of taste and rank, and to crown all, he was blessed with children and domestic happiness. Thus he was in the very best circumstances for producing quality and quantity of work.

For many years he usually had three or four sitters a-day, and to these he gave an hour and a-half each. He rarely kept a sitter more than two hours, unless the person happened to be gifted with uncommon talents, which was frequently the case; then he was in his element, and never failed to detain the party till the arrival of a new sitter indicated that he must be gone. For a head size he commonly required four or five sittings; but his power of mind and his faculty of discernment were such that the first sitting rarely came to an end without his having fairly grasped the character and disposition of the individual. He never drew his heads or any part of the body with chalk, but at once began with the brush. “The forehead, chin, nose, and mouth, were his first touches. He always painted standing, and never used a stick for resting his hand on; for such was his accuracy of eye and steadiness of nerve that he could introduce the most delicate touches, or the utmost mechanical regularity of line, without aid, or any other contrivance than fair off-hand dexterity.”

The following detail of his mode of working is from one who knew him in his early days, and sat to him after he had risen to fame:――“He spoke a few words to me in his usual brief and kindly way, evidently to put me into an agreeable mood; and then, having placed me in a chair on a platform at the end of his painting room, in the posture required, he set up his easel, beside me, with the canvas ready to receive the colour. When he saw that all was right, he took his palette and his brush, retreated back step by step, with his face towards me, till he was nigh the other end of the room; he stood and studied a minute more, then came up to the canvas, and, without looking at me, worked upon it with colour for some time. Having done this, he retreated in the same manner, studied my looks at that distance for about another minute, then came hastily up to the canvas and painted a few minutes more. I have sat to other artists; their way was different――they made a careful outline in chalk, measured it with compasses, placed the canvas close to me, and looked me almost without ceasing in the face, proceeded to fill up the outline with colour. They succeeded best in the minute detail――Raeburn best in the general result of the expression; they obtained by means of a multitude of little touches, what he found by broader masses; they gave more of the man, he gave most of the mind.”¹

¹ _Lives of British Painters_, by Cunningham, Volume VI.,
pages 217‒221.

Raeburn lived at a period which gave birth to many eminent Scotsmen, and he painted portraits of a considerable number of them, a few of which may be mentioned. He executed a full-length picture of Sir Walter Scott, in which the resemblance to the great novelist is admirably reproduced. His portrait of Dugald Stewart is much admired for its striking likeness of the expression of the original; and also that of Professor Playfair. It would be easy to form a long list, but it is unnecessary; and I only add that most of the eminent names in literature, science, law, and politics, in or connected with Edinburgh, were amongst the sitters of this highly-gifted artist.

In the later years of his career honours flowed upon him. He was elected a member of the Royal Academy of London in 1815; afterwards he was chosen a member of the Imperial Academy of France; in 1817, he was elected an honorary member of the Academy of the Fine Arts of New York; and he was also admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, which indicates a recognition of his well-known accomplishments outside of his own profession.

When George IV. visited Edinburgh in 1822, Raeburn received the honour of knighthood; and it is recorded that “in the opinion of all who loved the arts, the honour of knighthood had never been more worthily bestowed.” Soon after, his brother artists honoured him with a public dinner in Edinburgh; and in replying to their expression of love and esteem, he modestly said that “he was glad of their approbation, and had tried to merit it; for he had never indulged in a mean or selfish spirit towards any brother artist, nor had at any time withheld the praise which was due to them when their works happened to be mentioned.”

In the summer of 1823, in the midst of his work, he was suddenly attacked with a general decline of his strength; and after a week’s illness, he died on the 8th of July, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. In every respect he was a noble specimen of genius and humanity. He was candid and modest, ever ready to lend a helping hand to merit and genius in art. Throughout his life he quietly discharged all the duties of a good citizen. In the words of one who knew him well――“His varied knowledge, his agreeable manners, his numerous anecdotes, and his general conversation, at once easy and unaffected, with now and then a touch of humourous gaiety, made him a delightful companion; he told a Scotch story with almost unrivalled effect; and did the honours of a handsome house and elegant table with all the grace of a high-bred gentleman.... First and last among all the children of art, no one was ever more widely respected than Sir Henry Raeburn, and his tall, handsome figure, and fine, open, manly countenance will not be forgotten for many a day in the place which knew him.”

As a portrait painter, his merits are of the highest order. His analytic grasp, imaginative and reproductive faculties have never been surpassed by any Scottish artist. He aimed at elevation of style, and brought out the mental qualities of his sitters; and by the unrivalled powers of his own mind, he rose above the mere mechanical rules of art and operated in the mental region. He thought that the distant view which he took presented nature in its grandest expression, and he seized the mental qualities and caught the ruling passion of the face by reproducing the general result.

Andrew Robertson was born in Aberdeen in 1778, and has been sometimes called the father of the improved style of miniature painting in this country. He appeared in London in 1800, and his talents soon gained him patronage. West, the President of the Royal Academy, assisted him, and recommended him to George III., and in a short time he found himself amply employed. He might have attained a higher position in art if he had devoted himself exclusively to his profession; but he was a lover of music, and occasionally played second violin to the famous Salaman. His disposition was exceedingly benevolent, and he engaged in many movements of a public character. He took an active part in establishing the Scottish Asylum in London, and also in founding the Artists’ General Benevolent Institution. His own acts of public and private benevolence were numberless, and he died universally respected and beloved in 1846.

Sir David Wilkie, an eminent Scotch painter, was born at the manse of Cults, Fifeshire, on the 18th of November, 1785, a son of the minister of the parish.¹ He early resolved to become a painter, and in the end of the year 1799 he entered the Trustees’ Academy of Edinburgh. He applied his mind and attention intently to his work, and under the inspiring influence of Mr. Graham, who was the head of the Academy, he made rapid progress in his studies. Amongst his schoolfellows may be mentioned William Allan, John Burnet, Alexander Fraser, and David Thomson, all of whom subsequently attained distinction in various branches of painting. In 1804 Wilkie left the Trustees’ Academy, with the good wishes of all who knew him, and returned to his father’s manse of Cults. At this time the influence of David Allan became apparent in Wilkie’s early efforts――in his picture of “Pitlessie Fair.” He produced a number of miniature portraits, and other pictures and sketches. But he began to think Fife too limited a field, and resolved to go to London.

¹ Allan Cunningham, in his work entitled, _The Life of Sir
David Wilkie, with his Journal, Tours, and Critical Remarks
on Works of Art, and a Selection from his Correspondence_,
has so fully treated Sir David and his works, that lengthy
details are unnecessary. Those who desire fuller information
of this eminent artist, will find an ample store of it in
Cunningham’s three interesting volumes.

In his nineteenth year, on the 20th of May, 1805, he sailed from Leith for London. He entered the Royal Academy as a probationer, and studied earnestly, and on a wider variety of specimens of art than had before been accessible to him. His application was intense and concentrated, hence his rapid and remarkable success, for genius mainly consists in the power of concentrated and prolonged attention. He studied both the theory and practice of his profession. In 1806 he produced his picture “The Village Politicians,” and soon received commissions from noblemen and gentlemen of taste. At this time Wilkie became acquainted with his countryman, Andrew Wilson, a distinguished landscape painter, just returned from Italy. They met at the request of Mr. Cunningham “for the first time, one morning, at William Thomson’s. There were present, besides Wilkie, young Hadyn, William Howel, David Maclagan, and a Mr. Callender, all seemingly very intimate, and I was told that it was their practice to meet in this way at one another’s lodgings to converse about art. To be admitted into such a society was very agreeable to me.”

Wilkie began to exhibit his pictures at the Royal Academy of London in 1806; in that year his “Blind Fiddler” and “Village Politicians” were exhibited, and he continued to exhibit his pictures regularly. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1809, and a Royal Academician in 1811. He travelled on the Continent, and visited the art galleries of France, Holland, and Rome; made memoranda, and wrote journals of whatever he deemed most worthy of attention in relation to art. He produced many pictures, and his reputation continued to rise. In the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1829 eight pictures from his hand appeared upon the walls. In June, 1836, he received the honour of knighthood; he bore all his honours with meek serenity.

In August, 1840, he started for a tour in the East. He proceeded by the Hague, Cologne, Munich, and Constantinople, and thence to Smyrna, Beyrout, Joppa, and Jerusalem. The state of his health was precarious before he went away, and on the homeward passage it became worse. On the 1st of June, 1841, on board the _Oriental_ steamship, not far from Malta, he expired. The authorities would not allow his body to be landed, and in consequence it was committed to the deep. Thus died Sir David Wilkie in the fifty-fifth year of his age. The tidings were received with deep regret throughout the country, for he was a popular favourite, as his works spoke to all classes of the people, and all degrees of taste.

As an artist and painter he was fertile, vigorous, and varied. Considering his comparatively short life, the number and the variety of his works are truly marvellous. But it could scarcely be expected that all, or even most of his pictures, would be stamped with the characteristics of the highest art. Accordingly, his paintings are of extremely various degrees of merit; even his warm friend and biographer recognises this. Still, after all fair deductions, Wilkie’s leading pictures form a collection which amply attest his powers of original conception, imaginative range, realistic faculty, and skill in execution. That he might have attained even greater perfection if his life had been longer spared is very probable, for he had been moving in a new style, which was not fully developed when he was suddenly cut off.

Mr. John Burnet, an eminent engraver and painter, was born near Edinburgh in 1781. He was placed under Robert Scott, a landscape engraver in Edinburgh, where he learned the practical part of engraving and etching; and, at the same time, he attended the Trustees’ Academy, where he was a school-fellow of Wilkie. Touching this part of his career, he says:――“I have often thought that my following the profession of an engraver and painter at the same time cramped the greater extension of either, as both are of sufficient difficulty to require the undivided attention to arrive at a high degree of excellence. With regard to myself, my arrangements precluded my having the palette so often on my thumb as is absolutely necessary to acquire a good style of colouring, independent of manual dexterity.”

Burnet was more inclined to engrave figure subjects than landscapes. He formed his style upon some points from the book illustrations of James Heath, an English engraver; but he chiefly followed Cornelius Visscher. Burnet went to London, full of hope and confidence, and found himself in his element. His first engravings were for Cook’s Novelties; but he longed for some larger work to exercise his talents, and asked the engraving of the “Jew’s Harp,” which he got. This was the first of Wilkie’s pictures which was engraved――the first of a long series of prints after his esteemed works; the engraving of it brought other work to Burnet.

In 1813, Burnet visited Paris, and remained five months, intently engaged in copying and studying from the magnificent collection in the Louvre, at that time gathered from all quarters of Europe. It was chiefly the materials which he then formed that led him to produce his _Practical Hints on Painting_, and his other literary essays relating to the fine arts. His chief work in painting is “The Greenwich Pensioners,” which was intended as a companion picture to Wilkie’s “Chelsea Pensioners.”

His younger brother, James, born in 1788, at Musselburgh, attained distinction in a special branch of painting. His method was to go into the fields, and note down in his sketch-book bits of beautiful landscape, cattle, and rustic figures, engaged in their avocations; and these he afterwards embodied in composition, and produced “Cattle going out in the Morning,” “Cattle returning home in a Shower,” “Crossing the Brook,” “Breaking the Ice,” and other fine pictures. But his life was short; he died in the twenty-eighth year of his age, regretted by all who knew him and could appreciate his excellence.

Andrew Wilson was born in Edinburgh in 1780. He studied in Italy, as already indicated; he was distinguished in landscape painting, and for his extensive knowledge of foreign paintings. He was professor of drawing in the College of Sandhurst, which he resigned in 1818 on being appointed master of the Trustees’ Academy in Edinburgh. His pictures are characterised by elegant and correct drawing, classic forms, beautiful arrangement, and graceful handling, and especially his fine rendering of the pearly tints of daylight and the golden splendour of sunset are much admired. He died in 1848.

In the early part of this century Andrew Donaldson held a distinguished place amongst Scottish landscape and water-colour painters. Of his early days little is known; it is reported that he was born at Comber, near Belfast, and was taken to Glasgow in his childhood, where he resided till his death, which happened in 1846. Although in his youth he was not specially trained to art, yet from an early stage of his life his natural bent seems to have led him to devote his time to it. His early drawings mostly represent some of the more quaint and picturesque scenes in Glasgow and its immediate vicinity. Afterwards he extended the field of his operations to many parts of Britain and Ireland, which afforded him new scenes. The result of these excursions appeared in a series of drawings which he published, marked by a keen appreciation of the beauties of nature, and executed in a style at once original and charming. His style was characterised by fineness and softness of execution, clearness of colour, and striking breadth of effect. As a teacher he was also long and favourably known to the community of Glasgow.

Sir William Allan was born in Edinburgh in 1782; and was originally trained as a coach-painter. But he afterwards studied for several years at the Trustees’ Academy, and subsequently he proceeded to London, took the painter Opie for his model, and produced a picture called “A Gipsy Boy and Ass,” which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1805. Having, however, failed in his hope of success in London, he started for St. Petersburg, and through the influence of Sir Alexander Crichton, then physician to the Imperial Family, he obtained some patronage as a portrait-painter. He visited the interior of Russia Tartary, and Turkey, where he collected materials for several original and characteristic works illustrative of the scenery and customs of Eastern Europe, which he subsequently produced. In 1809, he sent a picture to the Royal Academy called “Russian Peasants keeping their Holiday,” but it did not attract much attention; and he sent no pictures to the Academy exhibition for the next six years. He returned to London in 1814, and the following year exhibited his picture of “The Circassian Captives,” now or lately in the possession of the Earl of Wemyss. This was followed by a painting of “A Circassian Chief selling to a Turkish Pasha Captives of a neighbouring Tribe taken in war,” and by others of a similar character representing scenes which he had seen in his travels. These paintings, however, did not sell at the time; and he was so much disappointed that he talked of retiring to the wilds of Circassia, and bid adieu to the land of his birth. He soon after tried a different class of subjects, such as his “Press Gang,” “The Parting of Prince Charles Stuart and Flora Macdonald at Portree;” still he failed to gain much public recognition, till the appearance of his picture representing the murder of Archbishop Sharp on Magus Moor, which was engraved and published, and had a run of success.

He then resolved to devote himself entirely to Scottish historic subjects. He produced a picture of “John Knox admonishing Mary Queen of Scots” on the day that her intention to marry Darnley was proclaimed. This was followed by other pictures of Scottish historic characters, including “The Regent Murray shot by Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh,” which was purchased by the Earl of Bedford for 800 guineas. In 1835, he attained the rank of a Royal Academician; and, in 1842, he was president of the Royal Scottish Academy. In 1843, he exhibited at the Royal Academy Exhibition a picture of the battle of Waterloo, which was purchased by the Duke of Wellington.

Sir William died at Edinburgh, in his painting room, in February, 1850, while engaged on a large unfinished picture of the battle of Bannockburn.¹ As a painter, his merits mainly consisted in his dramatic powers of telling a story on canvas, and skill in composition; in colouring he was deficient.

¹ The battle of Bannockburn is a grand subject for a historic
picture. But a subject which would demand from the artist
a rare grasp of analytic power, and the imaginative and
realistic faculties, combined with skill in arrangement and
composition. The details no less than the conception of such
a picture would require much thought and study to develop
and execute it in a thoroughly complete form.

David Roberts was born at Stockbridge, Edinburgh, in 1796. He was originally a house-painter in Edinburgh; and in his twentieth year showed his talent for pictorial art in the form of stage scene painting, which he executed for a company of travelling players. He worked several years as scene painter for the stage in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London. He repeatedly visited France; and, in 1832, he went to Spain, and thence passed to Morocco. The fruit of the latter journey was a series of drawings, published in lithography in 1837, under the title of “Picturesque Sketches in Spain.” At the same time he was engaged in making finished drawings for various publications. In 1838 and 1839, he travelled in Egypt and Syria; and the results of this tour were lithographed and published in the well-known work entitled, “Roberts’ Sketches in the Holy Land, Syria, and Egypt.” Between 1849 and 1855, he made several visits to Belgium, France, and Italy. Mr. Roberts, in 1858, was presented with the freedom of the city of Edinburgh, “in testimony of the appreciation of his high artistic talents, and of the lustre which his works have shed on his native city.” It has been said of him:――“His name will justly occupy a foremost place in the British school of architectural and landscape painting. His mastery of effect and breadth of treatment in interiors was very great, though it must be admitted that they sometimes savoured of the trick of stage decoration, to which, during so many years, his hand had been applied. His paintings in oil numbered about two hundred and sixty, those in water-colours, not including sketches innumerable, amounted to five times that number. A collection of seventy-three oil paintings and sketches, and eight hundred water-colour drawings and sketches, which were found in his studio after his death, were exhibited during some months (1865) at the Architectural Gallery in Conduit Street, and afterwards sold at Christie’s and Manson’s, producing, collectively, upwards of sixteen thousand pounds.... Mr. Roberts, throughout his life, kept copious journals, in which he included pen sketches of all his pictures as they left his studio, the date of their exhibition, name of their purchasers, and the price which he received for them.” He continued to work to the last; and died suddenly in November, 1864.

William Bonnar, a distinguished portrait painter, was born in Edinburgh in 1800. He produced a large number of fine pictures, some of which have been engraved and widely circulated. He died in 1853.

Thomas Duncan was born in 1807, at Kinclaven, Perthshire, and educated at Perth. He early manifested an inclination for drawing such objects as struck his fancy; but his parents ignored this, and placed him in the office of a writer, with whom he completed the period of his engagement. At last his father consented to let him follow his own taste; and he proceeded to Edinburgh and placed himself under Sir William Allan, then the head of the Scottish Academy. Duncan’s talent speedily developed, and soon outstripped all his competitors in the most difficult department――the drawing of the human figure.

His first picture that attracted public attention was the “Milkmaid,” and shortly after he exhibited “Old Mortality” and “The Braw Wooer.” The exact drawing, fine feeling, and masterly execution of those early works gave high promise of future excellence. From this time his improvement was remarkable, insomuch as to secure to him the position of professor of colour in the Edinburgh Academy, and subsequently the chair of drawing in this school. In 1840 he sent to the Royal Academy of England his fine work, “Prince Charles Edward and the Highlanders entering Edinburgh after the battle of Prestonpans.” The following year he exhibited a touching picture from the ballad of Auld Robin Gray, called “The Waefu’ Heart,” the next year “Deer Stalking,” and in 1843 “Charles Edward asleep after the battle of Culloden, protected by Flora Macdonald.” He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1843. He died in May, 1845, at the early age of thirty-eight. Had his life been prolonged, he would have attained a high position in historic painting. As a colourist he had few superiors.

William Simson was born at Dundee in 1800, and received his education in art at the Trustees’ Academy in Edinburgh. In the early part of his career, his works consisted mostly of small coast scenes, sketched on the shores of Leith and Fife. But, in 1829, he executed a large picture entitled, “The Twelfth of August;” the next year, “Highland Deer Stalkers,” and “Sportsmen Regaling.” After this, for some years he was engaged in portrait painting. In 1835, he visited Italy, where he remained three years. He returned in 1838, settled in London, and at the opening of the Royal Academy, in Trafalgar Square, exhibited two pictures. Amongst the long list of his works may be mentioned, “Mary Queen of Scots and her retinue returning from the chase to the Castle of Stirling,” exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1841; “The murder of the two Princes in the Tower,” exhibited at the British Institution in 1842; and “The arrest of William Tell,” which contains many figures. His works are characterised by imaginative power and excellent colouring; some of his portraits are very fine. He died in London in 1847.

Sir John W. Gordon was born in Edinburgh in 1788, and studied art at the Trustees’ Academy, under Mr. Graham,¹ for four years. His aspiration ran towards historic painting, and he worked in this line for some time; but finding that it would not pay, turned his attention to portrait painting. On the death of Sir William Allan, in 1850, Gordon was elected to succeed him as president of the Royal Scottish Academy. In short, at this time he was considered one of the foremost living portrait painters in Scotland. He produced many portraits, some of them of well-known public men. He died at Edinburgh in 1864.

¹ Graham is reported to have been a warm-hearted and kindly
man, and it is evident that he was a very successful teacher
of art; from the large number of his pupils who attained
distinction, he seems to have had the faculty of arousing
the enthusiasm of his scholars. He left some specimens of
his own paintings in his “Death of General Fraser,” and
the “Death of David Rizzio.” Graham was a North countryman,
and was originally a coach-painter; nevertheless, by his
teaching he gave a greater impulse to the culture of art in
Scotland than any man of his time.

Another name deserves to be mentioned: James S. Stewart
was born in Edinburgh in 1791, studied under Graham at
the Trustees’ Academy; and he became one of the most
distinguished engravers of his time. He died at the Cape
of Good Hope in May, 1863.

William Dyce was born at Aberdeen in 1806; his father was a physician, and a fellow of the Royal Society. He was educated at Marischal College, and graduated M.A. at the age of sixteen. He afterwards studied art in the Edinburgh Academy; and before he was twenty, visited London, and became a probationer in the Royal Academy; but being dissatisfied with the method of instruction, he did not enter as a student. He proceeded to Rome, and studied from works of the Roman and Tuscan schools. In 1826, he returned to Scotland; but the following year he again visited Rome, and studied early Christian art. On returning home in 1830, he settled in Edinburgh, where he resided eight years. But having failed to obtain sufficient encouragement in historic painting, he had recourse to portraiture. He sometimes exhibited pictures at the Royal Scottish Academy, of which he was elected an associate in 1835.

In 1837, he published a pamphlet on the _Management of Schools of Design_, recently established by the Government, and in which he proposed a scheme for the improvement of the Trustees’ Academy in Edinburgh. It presented a statement of perhaps the most complete scheme of art education then known in this country, which made him known to the Government. He was appointed superintendent and secretary to that branch of the Board of Trade which had charge of the new schools. Commissioned by the Government, he instituted a careful examination of the Continental systems of art instruction, and his report, with some modifications, was adopted as a text-book for several years. In 1842, he was appointed inspector of the provincial schools, but he resigned this office in 1845. He lectured on the theory of the fine arts in King’s College, London; he is also the author of many essays on art and allied subjects.

His paintings are pretty numerous, and some of them are highly finished and greatly esteemed. He also executed decorative work in churches, and in some of the royal palaces. As an artist, his designs were well conceived, the attitude of his figures graceful, and the expression apt and pathetic. He died in 1864, in the fifty-eighth year of his age.

Sir George Harvey was born at St. Ninian’s, near Stirling, in 1806. He was first apprenticed to a bookseller in Stirling, but he devoted his leisure hours to art. At the age of eighteen, he entered the Trustees’ Academy in Edinburgh, where he studied two years. He was imbued with Puritan sentiments, and has done ample justice to that side of the national character, by depicting the earnestness and energy of the Covenanters. He produced his “Covenanting Preachers” in 1830; “Covenanters’ Communion,” 1840; “Sabbath Evening,” 1841; and his “Battle of Drumclog,” 1836, in which he represented, with remarkable effect, the aspects of a hand-to-hand struggle. In a different style his “Highland Funeral” appeared in 1844; and his “First Reading of the Bible in the Crypt of St. Paul’s” in 1846, which among his many other successful pictures has been engraved. He was elected President of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1864. He died on the 22nd of January 1876.

Robert S. Lauder was born near Edinburgh in 1803, and early manifested a taste for art. He entered the Trustees’ Academy in the year 1818, and prosecuted his studies for four years. After this, he went to London, and for three years practised drawing in the British Museum, and embraced every opportunity of improving his taste and knowledge. He returned to Edinburgh in 1826, and was elected an associate of the Royal Institution. In 1833, he visited the Continent, and remained abroad five years, the greater part of which he spent in Italy. He studied intently at Rome, Florence, Venice, and Bologna, returning in 1838, and afterwards residing in London till 1849.

In 1849, he exhibited his “Bride of Lammermoor” in the Royal Academy; and subsequently exhibited other pictures which were readily purchased. The leading characteristics of his pictures which at once attract the eye, are his rich and tasteful colour, and admirable management of light and shade. He died on the 22nd of April 1869.

David Scott was born in Edinburgh in 1806. His father was a landscape engraver, and he learned the rudiments of his art from the prints, scraps, and sketches, lying in all corners of the house. While very young, he engraved illustrations for various works; and soon after turned his attention to painting. In 1832, he proceeded through France to Italy, where he visited every city in any way remarkable for its art collections. He stayed in Rome about a year, painted a number of small pictures, and one large picture entitled, “Family Discord――the Household God destroyed.” He returned home in the spring of 1834, and the next year he was elected a member of the Royal Scottish Academy. The following are a few of his works:――“Nimrod the Mighty Hunter;” “Wallace defending Scotland;” “Mary Queen of Scots receiving her death warrant;” “Jane Shore found dead in the street;” “Merry Wives of Windsor, played before Queen Elizabeth;” “Christ in the Garden;” “Peter the Hermit addressing the Crusaders.” Many of his other large pictures and also his small ones are representations and illustrations of very interesting subjects.

He also aspired to literary distinction. He is the author of a series of papers on the characteristics of the great masters of painting, which were published in _Blackwood’s Magazine_ in 1840. He also wrote a few pieces of verse and several tales. He died in the month of March, 1849.

Horatio MacCulloch was born in Glasgow in 1806, where he received his first instruction in painting from Mr. Knox, a landscape painter of some reputation. He was a diligent student of nature, as seen in the scenery on the banks of the Clyde, the Kelvin, the Cart, and the wilder regions of the Western Highlands. He afterwards removed to Edinburgh, and exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1829 “A View of the Clyde.” His pictures readily obtained purchasers, and he was elected an associate of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1834, and a full member in 1838. He has long been recognised in Scotland as one of the leading painters of local scenery of his time. He died in 1867.

Alexander Johnston was born in Edinburgh in 1815; and studied art in the Trustees’ Academy. He afterwards went to London, and studied under Hilton in the Royal Academy. He began pretty early to exhibit his pictures, and gradually attained a good position. In 1842 he exhibited at the British Museum his “Braw Wooers” and “The landing of Jeanie Deans at Roseneath,” and “The Covenanters’ Marriage” at the Royal Academy. These were followed by other pictures handling Scottish subjects. In 1846 his “Prince Charles’ introduction to Flora Macdonald after the battle of Culloden” appeared; the following year “The burial of Charles I. in St. George’s Chapel,” and “The abdication of Mary Queen of Scots” in 1855. His pictures are numerous, and mostly of a historic description.

Alexander Backley was born in Glasgow in 1816; and began his career in art when ten years of age by cutting out figures upon paper. In 1831 he commenced to study in the Trustees’ Academy, and ten years later he studied a short time at the Royal Academy in London. He attained distinction as a portrait-painter, especially in portraiture of ladies and children. His principal oil-paintings are the “Opening of Parliament” and “The Ragged School.”

Sir Daniel Macnee was born in 1806 in the parish of Fintry, Stirlingshire, but when an infant his father died, and, with his mother, he removed to Glasgow. At the age of twelve he was sent to learn drawing under John Knox, with whom he studied four years. Subsequently he was engaged by Dr. James Brown to execute large anatomical drawings for illustrating popular lectures. In 1824 he began to study at the Trustees’ Academy at Edinburgh in the evenings; and two years later he exhibited chalk portraits in Edinburgh. He returned to Glasgow in 1830, and painted portraits and subjects of simple peasant life. He ultimately resolved to limit his efforts to portrait-painting; and he soon attained success. Many of his portraits were exhibited in Glasgow and Edinburgh. In 1876 he was elected President of the Royal Scottish Academy, and the following year he received the honour of knighthood. He then removed to Edinburgh, and continued to work assiduously. He painted rapidly, and frequently finished a head size in three sittings of about two hours each. His portraits are very numerous, and widely distributed in Scotland. He executed many portraits of ladies, some of which are remarkably good. The University of Glasgow conferred on him the honorary degree of LL.D. After a short illness, he died on the 17th of January, 1882.

John Phillip was born in Aberdeen on the 22nd of May, 1817, the son of humble parents. With very few external advantages he early manifested a genius for art, and at the age of fifteen produced pictures. Two years later he worked his way to London for the purpose of seeing the exhibition of the Royal Academy, and after a brief stay there, which intensified his enthusiasm for art, he returned home. He continued to work in Aberdeen till 1837, when Lord Panmure lent him patronage, and he proceeded to London, and became a student in the school of the Royal Academy. In 1839 he again returned to Aberdeen, and painted portraits under local patronage, of which a number are still in the city. He removed to London in 1841, and regularly exhibited his pictures until 1851, when, owing to a severe illness, he visited Spain, where he stayed till 1856.

The influence of the new surroundings upon his active and plastic mind soon appeared in his works, and he painted a number of pictures illustrative of life and manners, of rare excellence. The first of these, entitled, “A visit to the Gipsy quarters,” and the “Perlade Triana,” were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1853, and at once elicited admiration. These were followed by other paintings of great merit and value. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1857, and a full Academician in 1859. Subsequently he exhibited two or three pictures annually at the Royal Academy in London, which readily found purchasers. In 1859 he executed for the Queen a picture representing the marriage of the Princess Royal with Prince Frederick William; which was engraved. He painted a successful picture of the House of Commons, which was also engraved.

His style is distinguished by remarkable intelligence and vigour, distinct conception, and fine perception of character. His flesh is admirable in modelling and for the healthy hue which it presents, while his colouring is rich, pure, and harmonious. He died in 1867, in his fiftieth year.

Personally, he was a man of high character and generous sentiments. It has been said that “he never put such high prices on his works as they might fairly have commanded,” and it is evident that since his death the rise of the price of some of his pictures has been very great. A few instances may be given:――in 1860 his picture “Scotch Baptism” was sold at £288 15 shillings, in 1874 it was sold again at £1,755; in 1860 “Prison Window” was sold for £315, and in 1875 it brought £3,255; and in 1882 his picture, “A Church Porch,” was sold for over £4,000. These prices are very significant.

Robert T. Ross was born in Edinburgh in 1816, and studied art at the Trustees’ Academy under Sir William Allan. He painted portraits, and subjects mostly from domestic life. He was elected a member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1869. He died in 1876.

Robert Thorburn was born at Dumfries in 1718, and educated at the High School of that ancient town. At the age of fourteen he was sent to study drawing at the Trustees’ Academy, under Sir William Allan, in Edinburgh. In 1836 he proceeded to London, and entered as a student at the Royal Academy. Miniature portrait-painting seemed to him the quickest way of becoming known, and he adopted that branch of the art. He first exhibited his portraits at the Royal Academy in 1837, and his success was pretty rapid. His list of sitters soon numbered personages of the highest rank, including the Queen and the Prince Consort. In the latter part of his career he executed large portraits in oil and chalk. He died in 1885.

Joseph N. Paton was born in Dunfermline in 1823. As a painter he is original and imaginative, working chiefly in the historic region. Among the more successful of his works may be mentioned his “Dante meditating the episode of Francesca,” 1852; “The Dead Lady,” 1854; “The Pursuit of Pleasure,” 1855; “Home――the return from the Crimea,” ♦purchased by the Prince Consort.

♦ “puchased” replaced with “purchased”

Erskine Nicol was born in Leith in 1825. He was intended by his parents for a commercial life, but his bent for painting was so keen that he chose rather to be apprenticed to a house-painter in Edinburgh, and occupied his leisure hours as a student of the antique at the Trustees’ Academy. After completing his apprenticeship, he applied for the post of drawing-master in the Leith High School, which he obtained, and he then earnestly prosecuted his art studies. Afterwards he went to Dublin, where he remained three years, teaching and painting portraits. And it was then that he gained his insight of the every day life and characteristics of the Irish people, from which he drew a series of pictures of a descriptive cast which were much admired and widely patronised. Many of his pictures have been engraved.

Robert Herdman was born in 1829 in the parish of Rattray, Perthshire, where his father was minister. He received a liberal education, and studied art at the Trustees’ Academy in Edinburgh. Among his early efforts he painted some Scriptural subjects, and a portrait of his mother. In 1855 he visited Italy, and made drawings from the paintings of the old masters in the Italian galleries. After he returned home, he exhibited at the Royal Academy a number of pictures from Italian subjects. He was elected a member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1863; and he contributed to the exhibitions of the Academy nearly two hundred pictures. Among the more notable of his pictures are “After the Battle,” a Covenanting scene; the “Captive of Lochleven,” and the “Conventicle Preacher before the Court,” which is an admirably realised and well-executed work. Some of his other historic pictures are the “Conference between Mary Stuart and John Knox at Holyrood,” and “Prince Charles Edward seeking shelter in the house of an adherent.” He had a strong feeling for historic subjects, and he sometimes drew upon Scottish song for his characters. He was an eminent portrait-painter, executing a large number of portraits of distinguished men and ladies. Personally he was a man of fine sensibility and an amiable genius. He died suddenly on the 10th of January, 1888, in his fifty-ninth year.

George P. Chalmers was born in Montrose in 1836, where he received the rudiments of education. He studied art at the Trustees’ Academy in Edinburgh, and worked carefully and assiduously, and by persistent effort he attained a fine artistic style. He was gifted with keen imaginative and realistic powers, which gave high promise of eminence. He executed a number of admirable paintings, both in portraiture and landscape, and was elected a member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1867. But his career was suddenly terminated by an accident which resulted in his death in February, 1878, in his forty-second year.

William B. Scott, a brother of David Scott, was born in Edinburgh, and studied under Sir William Allan in the Royal Academy. He afterwards settled in London, where his pictures were exhibited at the Royal Academy for a long series of years. He was for many years director of the Newcastle Government School of Art; and gradually his reputation became widely known. He produced a series of eight large pictures, original in design and vigorously executed, illustrating the history of Northumberland, for Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Baronet, to decorate Wellington Hall. This series was exhibited at the French Gallery in London in 1861. He also occasionally occupied his attention with literature, wrote and published a biography of his brother David, some pieces of poetry, and several other writings. He died on the 22nd of November, 1890.

The names of Scottish painters noticed in this section forms a pretty long list, but it should be understood that it is not presented as an exhaustive one; enough, however, has been adduced to show that the culture of painting and art had made considerable progress in Scotland during this period, and especially in the present century. It may be observed, too, that in this branch, as in many other departments, Scotsmen have contributed something to the richness of English Art; and if they have learned something from the south side of the Tweed, they have done more than repaid it.

In the last century some indications of a revival of sculpture appeared in Scotland, though little progress was made till the present century. Thomas Campbell was born in Edinburgh on the 1st of May, 1790. Originally he was a marble-cutter. Carving a chimney-piece in the house of Gilbert Innes of Stow, this gentleman was much pleased with his intelligence and promise, and gave him means to enable him to prosecute the study of sculpture. He went to London, and attended the classes of the Royal Academy. In 1818 he proceeded to Rome, where he studied for several years. He ultimately attained distinction, and received many commissions. He worked both in bronze and in marble, and executed many statues, and also busts. Among his works may be mentioned:――a marble statue of the Duke of Wellington, a statue of Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle, and the granite statue of the fifth Duke of Gordon at Aberdeen.

Laurence Macdonald was born at Boneybrow, Findo-Gask, in Perthshire, on the 15th of February, 1799. In the winter of 1822 he studied for a short time at the Trustees’ Academy in Edinburgh. The same year he went to Rome, where he studied earnestly, and executed several busts. In 1826 he returned to Edinburgh, and executed busts of Professor John Wilson and George Combe, the phrenologist. He produced many busts; and in 1829 he exhibited his works in the Royal Academy, and the Royal Institution, Edinburgh. He returned to Rome in 1832, where he held a leading position as a sculptor, chiefly in executing portrait busts. He executed a bust of Sir Walter Scott. He died on the 4th of March, 1878.

Sir John Steel was born in Aberdeen in 1804, a son of a woodcarver. He early manifested a taste for sculpture, in which he eventually attained distinction. He settled in Edinburgh, and executed many fine statues and busts. He died on the 15th of September, 1891.

William Brodie was born in 1815. He was a distinguished sculptor, highly gifted with fine ideal and realising powers. He was a remarkably quiet and unassuming man. He died in Edinburgh in 1881. His brother, Alexander Brodie, born in 1829, was also a sculptor of promise. His chief work was a marble statue of Queen Victoria, which he executed for the city of Aberdeen. He died in 1867, at the age of thirty-eight.

Henry B. Smith was born in Aberdeen in 1857. He executed a considerable number of small busts in marble. His chief work was a bronze statue of Burns, which was unveiled in Aberdeen on the 17th of September 1892. He was a sculptor of great promise. He died on the 16th of April 1893, at the early age of thirty-six.

In short, the progress of art in Scotland is one of the most striking facts in the recent history of civilisation. The chief cities have their academies, institutes, and schools of art, galleries and museums; and even many of the smaller towns show their appreciation of art in many ways. Let us hope that the culture of art, in all its branches, shall be still more widely diffused in the future than it has been in past; that the resources of elevated feeling and refined enjoyment may continue to be opened and expanded.